Did Mirai have a mentor this year?

[heyang]

Watching Mirai as she got ready to skate her LP she looked very intense and the last thing Carroll said to her was "smile."

Smiles don't win you medals - but they don't hurt either.

The quote below from the NY Times is worth mentioning:

"She has a freshness about her skating, a joy,” Brian Orser, who coaches the gold medalist Kim Yu-na of South Korea, said of Nagasu. “I know the style of Frank Carroll, the way he teaches — beautiful line right through to her smile. It’s real and it’s refreshing, and I like that.”


I thought Mirai's LP to "Carmen" was charming, among the very best programs we saw in Vancouver. I thought it was age appropriate, energetic and can't imagine seeing Mirai skate without her captivating smile.

Aside from Yuna - who appears to be in a class of her own - my favorite skaters this season were Mirai and Akiko. There is a joy to their skating that really seems to enhance their programs and sets them apart from so many others.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/sp...s/28skate.html

Smiling is a way to relieve tension - it relaxes several facial muscles. Also, taking deep breaths and slow exhales relieves tension through out the body. When you're tight, your muscles will restrict movement and flow. I've noticed that many skaters will look tense as the take their initial pose. If he/she doesn't take a moment for a deep breath before starting, you see them take that tension into their routine.

Anyway. point is that it wasn't about being 'pretty', but a relaxation method.

[Bennett]

That too, though I'm still not convinced Patrick is actually cocky. He seems kind of shy in interviews.

Yeah, I do not quite get why Patrick Chan has been so heavily criticized, either. I was not following skating towards the last season, and before that I feel that he had a lot of positive reputations on his attitudes for being a nice guy. And then when I am back, the atmosphere for him kind of changed. That's what I felt. I guess he might have done some interviews that get him such a reputation, but it could be some miscommunication.

[silverlake22]

Yeah, I do not quite get why Patrick Chan has been so heavily criticized, either. I was not following skating towards the last season, and before that I feel that he had a lot of positive reputations on his attitudes for being a nice guy. And then when I am back, the atmosphere for him kind of changed. That's what I felt. I guess he might have done some interviews that get him such a reputation, but it could be some miscommunication.

I agree. Even Mirai can come off as rude in some of her interviews, and I fully believe that she is a sweet and polite girl. I've only heard adults in the skating world say good things about Patrick Chan, and from what I can tell, he seems like a good guy. He is at a rough age for most guys and I think he is handling himself quite well.

[bekalc]

Patrick gets criticized for the comments he makes. Like commenting about how he was laughing at his opponent's programs. Or calling Plushenko old.

[Bennett]

I agree. Even Mirai can come off as rude in some of her interviews, and I fully believe that she is a sweet and polite girl. I've only heard adults in the skating world say good things about Patrick Chan, and from what I can tell, he seems like a good guy. He is at a rough age for most guys and I think he is handling himself quite well.

Mirai rude? When and where? I have always found her an extremely polite, modest kid in her interviews since her younger ages. She's always grateful to her parents and coach, humble about herself, and give good compliments to others. The only thing that I could think of is that I heard her cute, playful comment, "It's just Rachael and me, and we're going to blow them away. bam, bam, bam," ticked off some uber Korean Yuna fans (I heard that they thought Mirai imitated Yuna's Bond girl and challenged her), which surprised me very much. But other than that, I never heard such a story.

Patrick Chan -- I feel that some of the jealosy may come from his huge scores, which seem to be more difficult to make sense on TV than in live. I did not read laughing about his opponent programs. I did read the Plush old comment, but it did not come across as offensive to me. Plush is indeed so much older than he is and among the oldest in men's field, which is just a fact. It is not that he was called "too old". So it's subjective whether or not you take it an offense. For some ladies and gentlemen who never want to reveal their ages, perhaps it would be taken as an offense. But you can be respected for being older than others, too, and if Plush is proudly 27, his comment never hurt him. Besides, it is also true that he came back from the previous cycle of the time. Plush himself was commenting after the comp that he would have won under the older system, which was an honest admission that he was not too updated with the current COP rule changes after he retired once. So there was some truth to it.

[silverlake22]

Mirai rude? When and where? I have always found her an extremely polite, modest kid in her interviews since her younger ages. She's always grateful to her parents and coach, humble about herself, and give good compliments to others. The only thing that I could think of is that I heard her cute, playful comment, "It's just Rachael and me, and we're going to blow them away. bam, bam, bam," ticked off some uber Korean Yuna fans (I heard that they thought Mirai imitated Yuna's Bond girl and challenged her), which surprised me very much. But other than that, I never heard such a story.

When she said that the state of US figure skating was an embarrassment, and that asians are cheap, and that she wouldn't share her stuff with the TV reporters (who were obviously joking). Clearly, Mirai was not being serious when she said such things and I thought she was being cute but I see how some people COULD consider it rude.

[Bennett]

Yeah, sometimes comments are subject to twisted interpretations.

When Mao was 16 going to Worlds in Tokyo, she was asked by the reporter, "You are strong when you compete at home, aren't you?" "Yes, I am strong." Then a TV commentator later commented in a cynical tone, "I was surprised to hear her say 'Yes, I am strong,'" implicitly suggesting that she was not modest enough. But hey, give a 16-year-old a break when she was innocently stating the simple fact. I still wonder if Mao was watching that program on that night. She popped a jump next day.

There was also a thread here that was closed due to a twisted interpretation, when she said, "I am approaching 80% closer to OGM", it was translated as "I have a 80% chance of winning OGM."

Miki has a long history of being bashed for her comments. The most recent one was when she referred to the saying that the favorite does not always win at Oly.

[ae9177]

LOL about the Mirai and Patrick comment, well, at least both Mirai and Patrick admire Evan, so I'm sure the three of them will get along very well, and Lori Nichol can choreograph a threesome program for them! :D

When I read Mirai complains that she got one of the smallest bunks during SOI tour, Evan replies on his Facebook that she can use his on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday when he's not around, I was like Awww, that's so sweet!

Here's another cute quote of Mirai on Evan:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...040704689.html

"We were on the same plane from L.A. to Florida," said Mirai Nagasu, who trains at Lysacek's home rink in Los Angeles and finished fourth in the women's Olympic figure skating competition. "He was knocked out the whole time. He was totally unconscious. I think he's drinking a lot of coffee to stay energized."